Daily Number

25,501

February 2, 2011

New Jersey incarcerated 25,501 inmates in December. This is a slight decrease over the past 12 months average of 26,806 inmates.

Of these inmates, 21,696 are in secured facilities, while 2,791 are in a residential community-release program. The number of inmates housed in county jails was relatively small -- 529 -- a major drop from the 1,500 average over the past 12 months.

The state Department of Corrections is encouraging inmates to complete a substance-abuse program. In December, 120 inmates finished the program, a nearly 40 percent increase.

These and other statistics can be found at yourmoney.nj.gov, a government website that tracks performance of various state departments.